Label: Tiny Engines Released: May 4, 2010 From the phased guitar and lifting leads that open “Tiny Planet,” there is a sense of hope and happiness (even as melancholy tugs at it) that pervades Everyone Everywhere’s self-titled full-length debut. As the album runs between big, loud, ringing chords and quiet, intricate, interwoven guitar and bass lines, it finds itself in… Read more »
Yesterday’s post aside, I haven’t been overly focused on music this week. I am reading a book about bluegrass, so I’ve been randomly running through the Bill Monroe lately. Bluegrass has often been associated with “hillbilly” music, but the reality is it’s very structured and provides maybe the best mix of technical skill and heart of any genre. One thing… Read more »
This post’s title comes from Paul Simon’s “Boy in the Bubble,” a song about the trials and tribulations of the modern world. We can certainly say that we have come to a very skewed reality when we find our heroes on the pop charts instead of working in orphanages, hospices and soup kitchens or devoting their lives to the cause… Read more »
Released: October 13, 2009 Label: Seafoam Recordings Stegosaur opens up this 7″ by discussing the trials and tribulations of making (and selling) a record. If a commercially successful record was made by packing a lot into a short record, they’d be in great shape. Sadly, the “industry” isn’t quite like that. “A Headache” is a driving tune with a touch… Read more »
Well, I didn’t pick up anything new this week, but I spent a good bit of time with a few releases that I need to review. Everyone Everywhere’s new self-titled album, on Tiny Engines, has hints of Hüsker Dü mixed in that made me instantly like it and Stegosaur’s Adventure 7″ is a clever and creative indie gem that packs… Read more »
Released: July 13, 2010 Label: Ripple Music I like pop music, but there’s always this underlying sense that I’m being hoodwinked by it. Are the hooks and the glossy sheen that make it so easy going down distracting me from fundamental flaws? Is it all based more on head than heart? Perhaps it’s unfair, but those questions pervade my enjoyment… Read more »
Released: February 2, 2010 Label: Daykamp Records Dirt Mall’s last album, Got the Goat by the Horns, survived more on raw energy than on innovation or spectacular songwriting. The songs were solid, to be sure, but it was the kick behind them that really propelled the album. While that album was well-worth checking out, the band had to kick up… Read more »
For years, Whattya Listenin' to Wednesday has been one of my favorite online features. Where else can I compare notes with music fans of all sorts? Where else can I find out what's really cool versus what's just hyped? Sadly, but for good reasons, Ray, the feature's creator and curator, has decided to put his Metal Minute site on indefinite… Read more »
Released: June 15, 2010 Label: SideOneDummy Records The '59 Sound, Gaslight Anthem's 2008 release, got a lot of comparisons to Springsteen. That was fair enough as there is no doubt that the band's sound was influenced by the godfather of their home state's rock and roll scene. However, what seemed to get lost in those comparisons, was that weren't simply… Read more »
Label: Clickpop Records (CD)/Topshelf Records (LP) Released: May 18, 2010 It's a little bit strange to put on an album by a young post-rock band and think, "This remind me of Yes!" For snobbier fans of the genre, it might be an immediate turn-off to see the comparison to the arena rocking prog dinosaur of days gone by, but fear… Read more »